Google coming to PlayStation Portable

IDG News Service — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 22:00:15 -0400

Google is heading to the PlayStation Portable and will have a place on the handheld's Cross Media Bar (XMB) menu, Sony said Tuesday.

It will appear when users upgrade their PSPs to the version 4 firmware, which will be available "soon," according to Eric Lempel, director of the PlayStation Network, who was posting on Sony's PlayStation Blog.

"This new upgrade replicates the Google Internet search experience, delivering the same search results that you’d get at www.google.com. And with a search history recall of 20 items, Web searches couldn’t be easier," he wrote.

Google will appear in the network section of the XMB. Also new in the version 4 firmware will be the ability to change viewing speed when playing back videos from Memory Stick cards.

Sony has regularly offered updates to the firmware of the PlayStation Portable since it was launched and through such updates has added a host of new features. Previous updates have added features such as a Web browser and support for a wider range of video formats.

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